SUPER WHY Alpha Boost!

Review

Common Sense Media says

Party-themed word app too simple and too fast to be fun.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Learning1
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that to SUPER WHY Alpha Boost!, is a party-themed word game app. Kids tilt the iPhone or iPad left to right to catch floating objects and letters to build very simple, party-themed vocabulary words. Kids choose from one of four main SUPER WHY characters -- Super Why, Alpha Pig, Princess Presto, and Wonder Red -- as well as a party theme -- beach, birthday, Halloween, or love. Then they try to catch the letters and falling objects to fly faster and boost their character higher in the sky. After the letters build the words (such as "mask" and "box"), the Super Party Password is created and the game is complete.  

  • Ease of use4
    Once kids get the hang of tilting the iDevice to "catch" the floating objects and letters, it's very easy to use.
  • Violence0
    Not applicable.
  • Sex0
    Not applicable.
  • Language0
    Not applicable.
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What kids can learn

1

Kids can learn some basic pre-reading, word-building skills with SUPER WHY Alpha Boost!, an app focused on a limited set of party-themed vocabulary words. Kids may also get some practice in managing stress, as this is a very fast-paced tilting game for the younger audience that SUPER WHY typically attracts. In fact, the game eventually moves so fast that many young kids won't be able to follow the word formation. SUPER WHY Alpha Boost! is, disappointingly, more eye candy than solid learning.

Subjects
  • Arts
  • Hobbies
  • Science
  • Social Studies
Skills
  • Collaboration
  • Communication
  • Creativity
See more details

What's it about?

Kids tilt the device left to right to catch floating objects and letters to build very simple, party-themed vocabulary words. Kids choose from one of four main SUPER WHY characters -- Super Why, Alpha Pig, Princess Presto, and Wonder Red -- as well as a party theme -- beach, birthday, Halloween, or love. Then they try to catch the letters and falling objects to fly faster and boost their character higher in the sky. After the letters build the words (such as "mask" and "box"), the Super Party Password is created and the game is complete.

Is it any good?

 

Party theme notwithstanding, SUPER WHY ALPHA BOOST! may not be a good time for many kids who expect more from educational game apps (especially from the typically high-quality PBS Kids brand) than this app offers. The themes and character may change, but there's just one basic game, and it requires no more thinking than tilting a mobile device back-and-forth. In addition, once the character on the screen hits certain falling objects, the screen movements speed up at such a fast rate that many young kids playing the game won't likely be able to follow the word formation at the bottom right corner of even just three- or four-letter words, thereby making any learning less likely (although the words are repeated at the end of the game). In the boost mode, the falling objects, balloons, and letters are propelled forward at too fast a rate for the very young pre-K and K audience that SUPER WHY tends to attract. Ironically, the rest of the game is sort of slow-paced. There seems to be no happy medium on this game, which causes over- or under-stimulation at even rates.

This review was written by Dana Villamagna

What kids can learn

1

Kids can learn some basic pre-reading, word-building skills with SUPER WHY Alpha Boost!, an app focused on a limited set of party-themed vocabulary words. Kids may also get some practice in managing stress, as this is a very fast-paced tilting game for the younger audience that SUPER WHY typically attracts. In fact, the game eventually moves so fast that many young kids won't be able to follow the word formation. SUPER WHY Alpha Boost! is, disappointingly, more eye candy than solid learning.

Subjects
  • Arts:
  • Hobbies:
  • Language & Reading: letter or word recognition, reading, vocabulary
  • Math:
  • Science:
  • Social Studies:
Skills
  • Collaboration:
  • Communication:
  • Creativity:
  • Emotional Development: handling stress
  • Health & Fitness:
  • Responsibility & Ethics:
  • Self-Direction:
  • Tech Skills:
  • Thinking & Reasoning: making conclusions, prediction

What's it about?

Kids tilt the device left to right to catch floating objects and letters to build very simple, party-themed vocabulary words. Kids choose from one of four main SUPER WHY characters -- Super Why, Alpha Pig, Princess Presto, and Wonder Red -- as well as a party theme -- beach, birthday, Halloween, or love. Then they try to catch the letters and falling objects to fly faster and boost their character higher in the sky. After the letters build the words (such as "mask" and "box"), the Super Party Password is created and the game is complete.

How kids will learn

There's one basic game in SUPER WHY Alpha Boost!, and it requires barely more thinking than tilting a mobile device back and forth. Kids may find it fun to play an app with favorite characters from the popular TV show, and those who don't get frustrated by the fast pace may learn to build and recognize a few words.

How parents can help

  • Play the game with your child and discuss other party-themed words that you can think of together that aren't on the game.
  • Check out some of the usually higher-quality learning fare associated with the SUPER WHY brand, like the TV show or SUPER WHY! app.
This review was written by Dana Villamagna

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This review was written by Dana Villamagna
Category:Educational Games
Platforms:iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Price:$1.99
Size:35.50 MB
Publisher:PBS Kids
Version:1.0.1
Release date:November 11, 2011
Minimum software requirements:iOS 3.0 or later
This review was written by Dana Villamagna
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
Our child development rating guidelines

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